Retirees front urges fiscal agencies to testify on pension bill.

By THE STAR STAFF

The Front for the Defense of Pensions urgently called on Gov. Jenniffer González Colón on Sunday to immediately direct fiscal agencies to participate in public hearings regarding House Bill 45, which seeks to protect the purchasing power of pensions for retired public employees.

The groups stressed that it is vital that the Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority, the Treasury Department, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Retirement Systems Administration testify promptly at public hearings on the bill.

The measure, originally introduced by Reps. Lourdes Ramos Rivera and Denis Márquez Lebrón, along with then-Rep. Mariana Nogales Molinelli, as House Bill 2038, was vetoed in July 2024 after objections from the Financial Oversight and Management Board.

As a result, Ramos reintroduced the measure in January 2025 as House Bill 45.

The organizations making up the Front noted that while the bill outlines possible funding sources, the legislative committee has been requesting the agencies’ testimony for nearly a year to thoroughly evaluate the bill’s fiscal implications. The Front’s main request is for the governor to mandate the agencies’ participation so they can present their assessments of the proposal, which seeks to restore the purchasing power of government retirees’ pensions.

They submitted a formal communication to the governor urgently requesting authorization for the agencies to appear before the committee as soon as possible.

The bill stipulates that during the first year, retirees will receive a general increase ranging from 7% to 10%, and that, starting in the second year, automatic annual adjustments linked to inflation will be established, similar to the increases granted to beneficiaries of the federal Social Security system under the mechanism known as COLA, or the Cost of Living Adjustment.